Two pages and not a single mention for the Pixies. A travesty.

They would qualify as 'well-known'. Have inspired many bands, and some would even say a particular sound. They have also had the sense to bail out, at least of recording, early enough that they have not damaged their 'no-duds' back catalogue with a steady stream of dross (REM for example).

Since they're the only American band in my top 5 favourite bands/artists of all time, it would be The White Stripes.

quote:

Originally posted by BAfé:
Since they're the only American band in my top 5 favourite bands/artists of all time, it would be The White Stripes.

Wow, yeah. Americans bands don't come out so well in a "greatest" of "ALL TIME" vote. It seems that bands should last at least a decade for the "all-time" thang and Americans come up short. Of BANDS, there's The VU, CCR, Pixies.... None of them sustained a whole decade. That's all I got. Since Bob Dylan's not a band, I got nothing to compete with Stones, Beatles, McLusky.... Yeah, I said McLusky. (Wait, they didn't last a decade either....)

So to hell with "all-time." Better to burn out than fade away. Maybe that's the American Way.

quote:

Originally posted by The Oracle:
Two pages and not a single mention for the Pixies. A travesty.

I'll second that, but they're not well-known. To people who really care about music, yes, but not casual music fans, whose numbers far outweigh that of those anywhere near the elite ranks of my fellow Megacritics.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:

quote:

Originally posted by odysseyandoracle:
To be clear, since Fraggy's post made me angry last night, if anything I said before came out as dismissive or sarcastic, then I apologize. I like arguing, and there's way too little of it around here lately.

I don't mind debating a topic, nor do I mind if you attack someone's argument. However, arguing for the sake of arguing or simply calling someone else’s criteria "meaningless" is not cool.

I don't think O&O meant it as an insult, to antagonize anybody. He was actually debating whether it means anything to call Elliot Smith a "little-known artist." Which IS attacking the argument, not the person. These things we say on here are extensions of our personalities somewhat, but O&O wasn't calling Paper Bag meaningless or anything like that.

quote:

Originally posted by WelcometothePaperBag:

quote:

Originally posted by The Oracle:
Two pages and not a single mention for the Pixies. A travesty.

I'll second that, but they're not well-known. To people who really care about music, yes, but not casual music fans, whose numbers far outweigh that of those anywhere near the elite ranks of my fellow Megacritics.

And again. Why bother talking about huddled masses of people you won't ever get to know? Here on metacritic the pixies are pretty friggin well known. Why do you seem to feel the need for a world where the pixies are totally obscure, when in the world you're typing in they are very well known?

Why should we care if most people haven't heard the music we love? Why does it matter?

2 pages isn't that long, by the way.

quote:

Originally posted by the Holy Immaculate Vag:
Why bother talking about huddled masses of people you won't ever get to know? Why do you seem to feel the need for a world where the pixies are totally obscure, when in the world you're typing in they are very well known?

I know a lot more folks in the real world than in this one. Most of whom have little musical credentials. And I'm not going to pretend the Pixies are well-known just because I wish them to be or because I know whoever reads this probably knows them well.

quote:

Originally posted by the Holy Immaculate Vag:
Why should we care if most people haven't heard the music we love? Why does it matter?

I don't and it doesn't. I was just disagreeing with The Oracle's statement about the Pixies being "well-known".

Great User Name, by the way.

Diddy and his son Christian were spotted shopping in Beverly Hills picking up some last minute things for the women int heir lives Christmas Eve: The father/son duo hit up Kitson and Curve and racked up on some stuff. Also in LA, Heavy D was spotted getting in some shopping……….And morever, I would like to tell you about Promotional Items for the upcoming Notorious B.I.G Movie, "Notorious" which hits theaters on January 16th 2009.

quote:

Originally posted by WelcometothePaperBag:

quote:

Elliott Smith is little-known?

Sure. Go outside and ask people if they know who Elliott Smith is.

Depends on where you live. I recently moved to Portland, OR (where he's from) and his songs have played on the mainstream radio a half dozen times in the past two months. And I don't even listen to the radio that much.

A short list:

1. The Velvet Underground
2. REM
3. CCR
4. The Pixies
5. The Doors
6. The Ramones
7. Nirvana
8. The Replacements
9. The Beach Boys
10. The Hold Steady

Look, I feel like being a dick today. I'm not a moderator but holy fuck, did no one read my post?
WE ALEADY HAVE THIS EXACT THREAD!
From the beginning of 2008 no less.
http://forums.metacritic.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/646109/m/6640080735/p/1

And yes, it is a shame that it took two pages for the Pixies to be mentioned.

quote:

Originally posted by Winterlong Pixies:
Look, I feel like being a dick today. I'm not a moderator but holy fuck, did no one read my post?
WE ALEADY HAVE THIS EXACT THREAD!
From the beginning of 2008 no less.
http://forums.metacritic.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/646109/m/6640080735/p/1

And yes, it is a shame that it took two pages for the Pixies to be mentioned.

I thought this sounded familiar, and I haven't posted in months. I'm glad you brought it up, cause I was about to use the same Grand Funk joke I did back in February!

quote:

Originally posted by musicfanatic:

quote:

Originally posted by WelcometothePaperBag:

quote:

Elliott Smith is little-known?

Sure. Go outside and ask people if they know who Elliott Smith is.

Depends on where you live. I recently moved to Portland, OR (where he's from) and his songs have played on the mainstream radio a half dozen times in the past two months. And I don't even listen to the radio that much.

Portland, here I come.

quote:

Originally posted by Lawrence_Of_Suburbia:
A short list:

1. The Velvet Underground
2. REM
3. CCR
4. The Pixies
5. The Doors
6. The Ramones
7. Nirvana
8. The Replacements
9. The Beach Boys
10. The Hold Steady

Good list.

I'm going to stick with this thread cus the other one hasn't been active for months...

1. The Velvet Underground
2. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band****
3. Parliament/Funkadelic***
4. Credence Clearwater Revival
5. Pixies**
6. X
7. The Temptations
8. REM
9. Sly & the Family Stone
10. Sonic Youth

OTHERS (numerical order abandoned): Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band*, The Replacements, Black Sabbath, The Feelies, Pavement, King Crimson, The Ramones, Nirvana, Aerosmith, Earth Wind & Fire, The Beach Boys^ & The Doors (though I hate them personally)

2000s UP & COMERS: The National, Man Man, The Walkmen, Okkervil River, The Hold Steady, any band but Furry Force...

**** E Street BAND, not just Bruce. They're the greatest live band EVER. Dec 3, 1978 - a concert I'll never forget and no band has topped since. Albums are mostly in his name only, but they were a bona fide band for the first 15 years. Ask the Boss or any of the band. I bet they'll say they're a band.

*** Gotta bring the funk. Seriously. Nobody brought it like like George, Bootsy & crew. They WERE Funk. Major INFLUENCE at the time & for years beyond. Legendary LIVE performers.

** Pixies produced 1 amazing EP, 2 absolute rawk classics and 2 damngood-to-great albums in ONLY 5 YEARS. Only The VU matches such output in such short of a time. Plus, their MASSIVE influence for almost TWO full decades now AND their killer LIVE shows.

* Magic Band is prolly less of a cohesive band than the E Street Band.

# Beach Boys are great studio band. I drop them due to that, and ahem, their wussy sound and lame live shows.

"Greatest" seems to me a little different than "Best." It seems the band would have to be phenomenally popular in its own time, have a sound that was innovative and influential, and have at least a few songs that are still well-known today.

The ones that I think are the top contenders:

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Nirvana
Bon Jovi
R.E.M.
The Eagles
The Doors
The Beach Boys
The Andrews Sisters

Other contenders:

The Doobie Brothers
Blondie
The Cars
Crosby, Stills, Nash &(/or) Young (an American band despite having an English and a Canadian member)
Journey
ZZ Top
Green Day
Guns N' Roses
The Supremes
The Four Seasons
Simon & Garfunkel
Earth, Wind & Fire
Boston
Van Halen
(And the ones I undoubtedly overlooked)

I like most of the bands listed here and I seriously don't want to piss anyone off, but my personal favorite American band is Metallica. I know there are probably others like Lynryd Skynryd and The Allman Brothers that haven't been mentioned here, but I grew up listening to Metallica and for that particular genre, they were the best. They truly were precision metal.

Pavement.